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Following the departure of Blizzard president J. Allen Brack last month, several more high-profile departures have been announced at the company. Chacko Sonny, the executive producer of Overwatch and its upcoming sequel, is leaving the company for “some time off,” according to Blizzard. In addition, Blizzard Entertainment’s Chief Legal Officer, Clair Hart, has also announced her departure from the company on the same day, though she did not specify a reason why.
In a statement to Bloomberg, Blizzard announced that Overwatch 2 Executive Producer Chacko Sonny would leave the company “to take some time off after five years of service.” Furthermore, Blizzard assured fans that Overwatch 2 has been “making excellent progress” and is in the final stages of production, with more information releasing later this month during the Overwatch League Grand Finals. More importantly, Sonny was also the Vice President of Blizzard Entertainment. As of currently, there is no confirmation on who will replace Sonny after his departure.
Chief Legal Officer Clair Hart had worked at Activision Blizzard for over three years. She states in her announcement post on LinkedIn that her past three years at the company “have been full of unexpected twists and turns,” but that she still feels honored to have worked at the company and meet “so many great people.”
Both Sonny and Hart join a long list of prominent departures from the company, which has been mired in several lawsuits and investigations concerning a culture of workplace abuse, discrimination, and sexual harassment. These include the departure of Jeff Kaplan back in April, Senior HR executive Jesse Meschuck, the stepping down of Frances Townsend from the company’s Women’s Network, and the firing of former Blizzard developer Jesse McCree and several others for misconduct.
Just a few days ago, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued subpoenas for several Activision Blizzard executives including CEO Bobby Kotick in order to investigate the recent allegations. The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing is also suing the company for its workplace abuse, and the Communications Workers of America has partnered with the company’s employee coalition to file a formal complaint to the National Labor Relations Board.
[Source: Gameindustry.biz, Kotaku]